AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Energy is working to roll out a new program to help promote solar adoption efforts locally, city officials shared in a Friday memo.
The Solar Standard Offer program will come before Austin City Council during Thursday’s meeting with council set to vote on a rate tariff to support the program, per the memo.
The initiative is designed to open a new local solar market and generate “more choices and opportunities for customers” while working on the city’s carbon-free progress.
“It is the first of its kind in the industry, developed by Austin Energy staff. Designed with stakeholder input, this program promotes the development of projects on commercial customer-owned rooftops and parking lots, creating benefits for customers, solar developers, and property owners,” the release read in part. “These projects will become part of Austin Energy’s Community Solar portfolio.”
Under the proposed program, the Solar Standard Offer would feature “transparent pricing, terms, and conditions” and “eliminates the need for an individual procurement process,” officials noted in the release. Renewable energy would be created through the program, and Austin Energy would then buy that energy via the Solar Standard Offer program at the prescribed tariff rate.
Officials said the inaugural rate would be $0.1124/kilowatt-hour for systems under one megawatt; those systems over one megawatt would instead be priced at $0.0841/kilowatt-hour, lower due to these systems not creating transmission cost savings, officials flagged.
Under the proposal, Austin Energy would adjust the rate once every three years, using considerations from the rolling average of the previous five years.
This is different than Austin Energy’s other solar programs because solar is traditionally interconnected behind the customer meter, benefitting the customer. However, building owners oftentimes choose not to develop solar because it would not directly benefit them only their tenants. Solar Standard Offer projects will be interconnected on the utility side of the meter. This means that building owners can own the systems themselves and receive a payment for their production directly from Austin Energy, or they can create additional revenue by leasing their rooftops and parking lots to a solar developer. This overcomes a “split incentive” between the customer and the building owner that can act as a barrier to solar adoption.
Oct. 18 Austin Energy memo
Alongside council approval, Austin Energy officials are eyeing council acceptance of a $31.6 million Solar for All grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Those dollars are designed to benefit low-income customers via access to solar and related storage use.
